History of the Railway
2007 News2007 was by far the busiest year in the railways history beating the previous best of year 2006 by over 20%. Hopefully this improvement will be maintained in 2008. Lights have been fitted to the station for running at night and were successfully tested by the bonfire night trains on November 3rd This was an all ticket event organised by the Friends of Rudyard Lake . Work on the track has resumed for the winter as usual. All the engines have passed their annual boiler test. Waverley is currently having major mechanical work done and Excalibur & Merlin are stored for the winter. Waverley will emerge in 2008 painted Apple Green. The annual steam gala was held on September 29 & 30th and featured 7 steam engines in use. Dry weather and a frequent 3 train service meant that all the steam engines got plenty of opportunities to run. The smaller atlantic type engines had the new first class coach to themselves and ran in combination or singly over both days. The Leek and Manifold engine E.R. Calthrope again impressed everyone with its power and happily pulled the trains and one of our Exmoor engines up and down the track. The Exmoor engines simply were there to provide air braking to the train. Sadly it had to go back to Trago Mills in Devon on Sunday the 30th. We are very grateful to David Nicholson who drove 500 miles to bring it on Saturday and take it back on the Sunday. The Great Northern Atlantic was able to run the length of the line despite its very fine scale wheel flanges. A new footbridge is complete at Rudyard Station to link the old and new platforms and was opened by Janet Woolley on 2nd of September . The next project is to erect the signal box at Lakeside loop. The signals have been re sited to match the extended passing loop. Daily train services ran through the school holidays. Traffic is up on 2006 levels despite the poor weather earlier in the summer. The new coaches and shelters to give wet weather protection were well timed. Coach No.6 a 12 seat glazed, enclosed coach with doors was delivered on 26th June by LTM Engineering and is in service. The railway now has 10 coaches in service at present. Over the weekend on 23, 24 June refurbished bogies for coach No. 11 were delivered , fitted and the the coach successfully tested with unloaded and them loaded test runs. It will be in use soon for special events. The lifting gantry has been erected and painted and is proving to be ideal for coach bogie inspections. The loop at Lakeside was lifted, the track bed scraped and re ballasted. The South point re timbered and refurbished and moved 5 track panels towards Rudyard. The main line was then tamped and ballasted. The loop line has been re-laid. The loop was back in use by early July. A site for the new signal box ( ex Fairbourne Railway) has been dug out at the South end of the loop. The platform shelter at Rudyard now has been completed and the valances fitted. It has been very useful in the very wet weather this summer. The clock tower awaits delivery of the clocks. Additional storage has been provided to allow all the coaches to remain under cover. The sets have been rearranged to allow complete rakes to be shunted in or out at the start and end of the day. The good weather in April meant busy passenger traffic and an experimental two train service running at half hourly intervals successfully operated on April 15 & 22nd. The extension to the passing loop is urgent and now planned for June. The new waiting shelter at Hunthouse wood is complete and looks very smart Plans relay the yard at Rudyard were made in view of the heavier stock and the use of engines to shunt the trains rather than hand shunting to assemble them. Easter was the busiest in the railway's history. Good weather over most of the weekend meant the extra seating capacity was fully utilised with two 5 coach trains in use on three days. All the railways steam locomotives were used at some point over the holiday period. A further enclosed coach has been ordered from LTM engineering and will become fleet No.6. A visiting scale model Great Northern Atlantic steam engine was on test on 3-5th April. The loop at Lakeside has been ballasted and packed. It is intended to extend it by 100 feet in June. The railway's signal department has fitted all the signals with lights to allow for running after dark. A new 12 seat enclosed coach No.5 has been delivered from LTM Engineering and was in service at Easter 2007. Delivery and test running took place on 31st March. No. 6 is now ready for delivery Work has been carried out to extend the head shunt at Hunthouse Wood to take a full works train. Rumours that this is the start of the extension to Rushton Spencer are incorrect.
Merlin on the newly laid section of track 14 Jan 2007 The last new panels of track were replaced on Sunday February 4th and the track rejoined. Packing and ballasting to make the track is fit for the Half Term passenger trains was completed in time. The total length of track replaced is well over a quarter of a mile. All the main line is now either S7( 13.5 lb per yard) on new sleepers or 20 lb per yard rail section. The S7 rails came from closed railways at Drayton Manor and Ashorne Hall. Regular steam hauled works trains are in operation during the week. Excalibur is being used at the current time. It sounds superb taking the three loaded bogie wagons up the track. The next tasks are: to paint the extended waiting shelter at Hunt house Wood. The passing loop at Lakeside is also to be extended to allow 8 coach trains to pass.
2006 NewsA quarter mile length of the oldest and lightest section of track has been lifted between Lakeside loop and Hunthouse Wood and will be re laid over the next few months with new track panels. As at 22nd of December 19 two thirds of the 50 panels required have been re-laid. This will mean the whole railway will then have either 20lb per yard rail or good 13.5 lb per yard rail with extra sleepers. Santa Trains were sold out by 9th of December . The track bed has been scraped clean with a JCB before the new track panels are laid
Traffic for 2006 ended up by just under 10% after a mixed season. The weather and world cup had a adverse affect until improvements later in the season took us to comfortably beat the 2005 result. The final day of normal running was Halloween on October 29th when kids in costume travelled free and got a lollipop if they braved the spiders who guard them. Four engines were in steam and the railway decorated for the event. The new shelter at Hunthouse Wood is almost complete. Double the size of the previous shelter it forms part of a plan to upgrade the station facilities. Clearance of the overgrown trees is also underway. A shelter over the platform at Rudyard is next on the list. Work on the track is progressing well to remove and upgrade the fishplates and re-fix the sleepers at the rail joints. The steam gala was blessed with good weather and the best ever attendance. All 5 steam engines were in use on both days and a two train service operated. August Bank holiday weather was variable- showers and sunny spells. A Two train service ran on Monday with three engines taking turns this worked very well and ran to time all day. The foundations for an enlarged shelter at Hunthouse Wood were put in over the weekend. The lake festival broke the record for the busiest ever day by 25% on August 6th with all 9 carriages in use on two trains and with three steam engines taking turns on the trains.
Excalibur & King Arthur cross at Lakeside loop A new coach is complete and is an enclosed 12 seat coach No.12 that arrived at the railway on July 22nd and was brought into service for the lake festival. It will be followed by two replacement semi open coaches. A special train was run for the children from Chernobyl on July 30th. A two train service ran for most of the day using King Arthur & Excalibur. Sources of railway parts are being developed by a local engineering company LTM Engineering Services. Contact us for details. No. 2 Mordred returned from overhaul on July 23rd and is back in use. Work is underway on the track to add ballast and change sleepers. Traffic is busy again with the good weather helping. A new coach was brought into service to replace the first of the three articulated coaches. Given the number 3 it was first used on May 27th. It is wider and higher than existing coaches. The very wet weather has driven down passenger numbers with disappointing traffic during May and the the bank holiday. An advantage of our smaller size and costs make us better able to overcome this than larger railways and tourist attractions which are now in serious difficulty. Train services ran from Good Friday to Wednesday inclusive over Easter. Two train services ran on Sunday with two or three engines in steam most days. This was the busiest Easter yet for the railway. On Sunday a two train service ran using three engines and kept to time all day. Train services started again on March 13th in snow and heavy winds. Pendragon and Merlin worked back to back to beat the weather conditions but passengers were thin on the ground in view of the very poor weather. No.9 Pendragon was collected from the Exmoor Steam Railway on March 5th and delivered to Rudyard later that day. After minor changes to the air brake piping it was put into service on March 12th. The level crossing at Rudyard was also re-laid on March 5th after an excellent effort by a volunteer working party. Two new bogies were delivered to make it a busy day's work. All the railway's 5 steam engines are now in working order and will run in 2006.
Pendragon and a new engine 7.25 inch gauge engine Brasken on March 5th at Exmoor Trains ran at half term with 3 engines in Steam on Sunday Feb 26th. Cold weather kept visitor numbers down. A rail bender has been borrowed from the South Downs Railway and used to start straightening some of our large stock of curved rail. The main priority is work to ballast the track and pack it to level. A further stretch of about 50 metres was completed on 19/2/06. A mini digger was brought in to help with the work at Hunthouse Wood on Sunday February 12th. It made light work of making a space for a larger shelter and extended platform. Merlin was in steam to haul the works train. The extended run round loop was completed by Thursday 16th February. Merlin passed its steam test on 2nd Feb 2006 and is back in service. Its the first engine to be overhauled at Rudyard.
Merlin raises steam for its test Work continues on the track to ballast and level it and has moved to extend the loop at Hunthouse Wood by 30 feet. This involves moving then extending the waiting shelter and developing picnic facilities. The next coach is being built off site and may be ready for Easter. It will be a covered 12 seat semi open coach. New years day trains ran in bright sunshine and were well patronised.
2005 Developments & ImprovementsNo.7 Merlin's boiler has passed its hydraulic boiler test after fitting of new boiler tubes and has been re-assembled. A formal steam test will take place soon and the engine should be ready for service in 2006. Santa Trains ran almost fully booked on 11 & 18 December and were a great success . Overall Traffic for the year 2005 has finished well up on 2004 which is very pleasing. Track work is being carried out to raise the track level above the footpath and to add extra sleepers from the level crossing at Rudyard. This is complete for about 250 metres and is a vast improvement. In addition a new lifting barrier interlinked to the signals has been installed at Rudyard station by the S&T department. Work has now moved to the cutting above the dam station. This was largely complete by 11th December. The 2005 season finished on October 30th with Halloween Specials. The weather was unkind with heavy rain in the morning but fine after lunch. Those who braved the weather saw the spooky graveyard and its inhabitants at play. The trains carried spiders and ghosts as well as passengers and everyone had a good time. The final trains of 2005 are on December 11th & 18th with Santa specials for which prior booking is required. See the webpage for details. The 2005 steam gala featured 2 visiting engines. An 0-4-2T Pulborough and a 4-4-2T Bray Valley. In all six engines were in steam over the weekend. see the gala page for more detail.
The Curwen Atlantic locomotive Waverley returned to Rudyard on August 27th and is back in use after fiiting of an air brake system. Merlin is being re-tubed and hopefully will be in use again by late autumn. The first point from Ashorne Hall has been converted for use on the railway. The long awaited King Arthur arrived on the 25 July and is in service after successful trial runs. Complete with a copper capped Chimney and a Great Western whistle it is in authentic Hogwarts Great Western red livery!
King Arthur at Exmoor on 18 July 2005 King Arthur is an 0-6-2 Tank engine built by the Exmoor Steam Railway in Devon with a works plate bearing the date 07/05. With cylinders 4.625 X 7.5 inch stroke its very large and powerful for the gauge of railway. Its painted in the bright red livery of the old County Donegal Narrow Gauge Railway in the North West of Ireland. The railway also has another steam locomotive a dark red 2-4-2T currently called Ashorne It is the the sister engine to Merlin but was built slightly earlier in 1994. It is now at the Exmoor Steam Railway in Devon for conversion to 10.25 inch gauge. About 400 yards of track and 6 points from this railway have now been lifted and moved to Rudyard during week ending June 17th. A new siding has been added at Rudyard and another container for stock storage and as a workshop. A new 12 seater coach has arrived. Not yet in service until glazing and new bogies are fitted. Rudyard Station now has its fences and picnic benches installed and in use. Planting of the gardens has been done. More coaches have had air braked bogies fitted and only one now remains to be done. A new first class coach is being built in Leek by Ian and Chris Burgess and should grace the railway later this year. Track in the cutting above the Dam has been raised, ballasted and 45 new sleepers were added on 27 February. Steam hauled ballast and works trains were run over winter and made a great sight and sound. A new waiting shelter has been provided at the Dam Station and the area tidied up. A second shelter at Rudyard should appear soon. The atlantic type tender engine No. 296 Waverley is being overhauled in Scotland and should return to Rudyard this year. Its boiler is finished and a lot of work done on the tender and it is hoped to use it regularly on the quieter trains his year. Work on Rudyard Station continues with the walls completed and a new engine steaming area prepared outside the engine shed. CCTV cameras are being installed. 2004Santa trains successfully ran for the first time in December. See the Santa webpage for more information and about how to book for the future. Santa arrives by boat and meets the children in his grotto in the new lake activity centre. Relaying of a 100 metre section of track is complete between Lakeside and Hunthouse Wood and ballasting is in progress. A new lattice type bracket starter signal has been installed at Rudyard. A new platform shelter & ticket office has been provided on the old platform at Rudyard. The normal 2004 season finished on a high note with very popular Halloween Specials. Large numbers of Kids in costume were welcomed to travel free. They were treated to lollipops and spiders and both were equally popular. The ghostly guard hijacked the brake van for the day. The phantom goods train also put in a couple of appearances Work has moved on to coach No.10 which has been through air piped for braking. New bogies have arrived for this coach and fitted. This was used on Santa trains with complete success. A successful test run was made over the whole line on Sunday October 3rd. This coach should be in use soon and will bring the operational coach fleet up to 8. The next coach will be No 11. This is expected to be a 12 seat enclosed coach. The new crane wagon arrived on November 21st and following the tradition of having the name of a type of fish has been designated as a carp. It has already been used. The Lake Festival Day Sunday August 8th was the busiest ever day at the railway. The train had 9 vehicles and two engines and was so long two guards were needed. Visiting engine E. R. Calthrop returned to Devon on July 18th. It proved to be a powerful engine easily capable of pulling our trains. We have been promised that we can borrow it again or perhaps one of the other larger engines from Trago Mills!! A new tank wagon built by Alan Boon arrived and was adapted for fishplate oiling and weed killing. Its bright red livery is very striking. It was successfully used for the first time on 7th of July to weed kill the track. The next off the production line was an impressive crane wagon. ( These particular wagons have now left the railway. The steam Gala on June 26 & 27th saw frequent trains in use on both days from 10.30 until 5pm. Goods and mixed trains operated early and late in the day and an intensive two train service most of the time. The steam engine Waverley will return by soon for a at least a two year stay. With King Arthur the railway will have 4 steam engines in regular use in 2005. The siding at Rudyard was installed in May along with more secure storage to give more space for the expanding fleet. Mains electricity supplies are also now available. The new Rudyard signal box looks very well in red and cream and the site is starting to look attractive with dry stone walling and flower beds being created and planted. see details click on this link to Chris Burgess site for the latest pictures. A new bracket signal has been installed and can be seen below. Problems with poor steaming due to bad coal caused two trains to have diesel haulage on 28th of March. These were the first diesel trains since Easter 2001. The express steam engine Waverley is having a boiler overhaul in Scotland. The boiler tubes have been removed and the boiler inspected. New boiler tubes are on order and will be fitted. With some work to re-profile the tender wheels the engine will be ready for use and will visit us later this year. Work to lower and extend the platform at Rudyard has been completed. The run round loop has been extended and re-laid with new rails and sleepers adding 20 feet to the length of the loop. This will allow 7 coach trains to operate if necessary. A ground signal has appeared to act as a point indicator to trains returning to Rudyard. The loop has been relayed and the point for the siding installed. Work on adding extra sleepers to the track will continue throughout 2004 ready for the delivery of the new steam engine King Arthur. A replica of the Leek & Manifold Engine E. R. Calthrop visited in June.
2003A large quantity of good rail has been delivered and sorted ready for relaying some
of the most worn stretches this winter. Regular working parties are scheduled for
the winter season. More volunteers will be welcome if you would like to help. More wagons are on the way with a tank wagon and a crane wagon next on the
Boon production line. The advertised 2003 season finished on 26 October and has been the railways
busiest ever with business 30% up on 2002. Plans are now being drawn up for the
2004 season which will feature increased services. An order has been placed with the Exmoor Steam Railway for the next steam
engine No.8 King Arthur. This should be delivered in June 2004 and will be larger
and more powerful than the existing locomotives. The 2003 steam gala was a great success with busy trains on both days. Ivanhoe
the steam engine which started the railway made its final visit for the Steam Gala
and was displayed each day for photographs. It joined our summer visitor Waverley
from the Isle of Mull. This years Gala had an old engines theme. Waverley was used
on both days to double head the trains up the line. It proved capable of taking 4
coaches, 3 wagons and an Exmoor steam engine up the gradients. Excalibur takes a goods train up the line one evening in August The Steam Gala featured our visiting steam engine Waverley with the small Bullock
steam locomotive Ivanhoe making a final visit to the railway. Unfortunately Ivanhoe
was not able to pull trains over the weekend but was on view. It has now
returned to its home in Cheshire August Bank Holiday weekend 2003 was the busiest in the railways history with
most trains full to capacity. The first air braked trains ran in regular service with
complete success. All the passenger stock and locomotives are now piped up to
use air brakes. The railway now has two videos available for
sale at £8 inclusive of post and packing or £6 at Rudyard. One tells the story
of the 2002 Steam Gala and was produced by Alan Boon. The second tells the story
of the 2003 season and also includes rare scenes of the lifting of the original
standard gauge railway. This is produced by Chris Burgess. If you want a copy
please click on this link to our sales page. The petrol engine No.2 Modred has
been painted for the first time in many years. The bright red livery is very
striking and it now has a cut down cab roof . The Diesel
No.5 Rudyard Lady will be repainted next in Union Pacific
Chrome Yellow and grey. Locomotive No. 6 Excalibur returned to the railway on Sunday March 30th
2003. It looks
superb and performs as well as it looks. It is effectively a new engine with a new
boiler and many improvements and new parts. A removable cab back has been built
to make it more comfortable in wet weather.
Waverley is seen here on Mull its home in recent years The 2003 Steam Gala was on September 27th &
28th. In 2004 we had a Steam Gala on June 26 & 27th to celebrate the centenary
of the opening of the Leek & Manifold Light Railway in 1904. The latest wagon from Fairacre
Engineering is a box van No.9 type described as a Chub because its bigger than
the previous van. Work on continues on improving the track by ballasting, levelling and adding lots of
extra sleepers in readiness for heavier engines to be used. In excess of 1000
sleepers have been replaced or added to the track in the last two years. A new point
has arrived to allow an extra siding to be added at Rudyard station. A second siding
is also on the agenda. Plans for another passing loop and platform at the Dam are
being considered for 2004. The platform at The Dam station has also been extended to handle longer trains.
Operating flashing lights are in use this year at the Rudyard Station car park level
crossing. They were first tested on Sunday 30th of March. A new water column was
also installed at Rudyard and used by both locomotives for the first time. This has
proved to be a great success speeding up the turnaround of trains. One of our volunteers Ian Burgess has devised very neat battery engine and
guards van lamps which will be in use this year. Lamp brackets are being fitted to
the rolling stock and the lamps are now in use. Our oldest steam engine No.6 River Churnet returned to its builders the Exmoor
Steam Railway on 6th of December 2002 for its ten year overhaul. It returned on
30th March 2003 with a larger cab and funnel a new name, Excalibur and lined black
livery. It is ready for another 10 years work. It is estimated to have run 20,000 actual
miles on trains at Rudyard since it arrived in 1993. The Steam Gala on September 28/29 2002 was a great success. The visiting engine Bray Valley was a hit with the visitors and enthusiasts alike. A great many photographs were taken. See the Gala Page for more details by clicking here. The 2003 Steam Gala was on September 27th& 28th
Bray Valley leaves Rudyard Station on 28/9/02 Peter Hanton from Congleton who built the railway on his own sadly passed away on November 16th. He was a real character whose legendary thrift and abrupt manner concealed his true worth. He continued to come and help on the railway and drove for the last time at the Steam Gala. His single handed achievement in building the railway will remain as a testimonial to his determination. It is planned to place a seat at Lakeside Station dedicated to his memory.
No. 2 Mordred leaves Rudyard with 2 of the new wagons The Steam Launch now named The Lady Alice returned to service on Sundays and bank holidays giving trips up the lake. The boiler is one dating from 1941 which has not been used until installed earlier this year. The boat looks superb.
The steamboat The Lady Alice at the pier on August 18th 2002 . MERLIN leaves the Dam Station on New Years Day 2002 braving the snow Work has been completed on Carriage No. 4 which is believed to be the largest carriage in existence on this gauge of railway. The bogies were overhauled late in 2001. A new floor and seats have been fitted and bolted down. A new lower aluminium roof has been fitted as the old one required four men to lift it when it was removed to lower it. This explains why the coach used to rock so much as it ran along. The coach is now in regular use and proving very useful because its 20 seat capacity helps move the crowds. Sundays in July, August and September 2002 were busy with two trains in use most Sundays. The annual visit by the Children from Chernobyl took place on Sunday July 28th. We were pleased to provide a special train as a part of the visit. In common with recent years the weather was hot and sunny as is usual on this occasion. Two trains operated all afternoon and with the steam boat also in use a vintage atmosphere prevailed.
Goods and passenger trains cross at Lakeside A new 16 seater bogie coach has been ordered and is complete. Delivery took place on the 1st May 2002. New air braked bogies have been built in 2004 for this coach. An extension to the engine shed to provide more covered accommodation for the carriages and new wagons has been constructed but is already full. The railway has a total stock of 4 locomotives, 8 coaches and 8 wagons. A rake of 4 wheel wagons has been construction by one of the railways volunteers and the first ones were in use on goods trains at the Gala on September 28/29th. There are two open wagons and a box van now in use. It is planned to fit them with air brakes later after running trials. A fourth 3 plank drop side open wagon is complete and in use with delivery taking place on Saturday 18th January. Another goods van No.9 is now in service. The new wagons have been built by Alan Boon and are of superb quality. They can carry a substantial weight and follow the principles established by Sir Arthur Heywood. They have followed the historic railway convention and been given type names of fish living in the lake. So far we have bream, eel, pike, chub and tench.
Merlin is seen with the new wagons on September 1st 2002 New signals were installed at Lakeside passing loop on Good Friday and brought into use on Easter Sunday. They are upper quadrant types electrically powered from their own rechargeable batteries. They look superb and have been much admired by the general public and passengers alike. The whole scheme has been designed and installed by Ian and Chris Burgess. A Steam Gala with a visiting steam engine took place on the weekend of September
28th & 29th. See the Gala page for more details.
No. 189 Bray Valley was our visiting engine seen here on 21/9/02 on its home railway before collection. Our diesel and petrol locomotives are always in regular use on works trains.
This locomotive was built in 1993 and painted in green livery with the name River Churnet. It has was rebuilt in 2003 and renamed Excalibur and is repainted in a lined blackberry black livery.
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No.7 Merlin 2-4-2T works No.296 built 1998 by the Exmoor Steam Railway
Merlin is seen at Exmoor in 1998 before painting Merlin is painted dark blue and was overhauled and had its boiler re-tubed in 2005 at Rudyard. It passed its steam test on 2nd Feb 2006 and is back in use. In service in 2008 after work to its boiler to replace the fire level stay nuts. All the 2-4-2T steam locomotives have also been 12.25 inch gauge before coming to Rudyard and ran on the railway where they were built. This was the Exmoor Steam Railway at Bratton Fleming near Barnstaple in North Devon. No.8 King Arthur is an 0-6-2T Works No 324 built 07/05
No.8 King Arthur brand new at Exmoor King Arthur is believed to be the most powerful conventional steam engine on this gauge of railway. It has cylinders 5.625 X 7.5 inches and a boiler pressure of 150PSI. It has been designed by the Exmoor Steam Railway specifically to pull the heaviest possible trains on the railway. It is a great success and is both economical and powerful. It is very similar to a 15 inch gauge engine that runs at Longleat. At 41 inches wide and 5 feet high it is at the limit of the loading gauge for this size of railway. It is in service in 2008 No.9 2-4-2T Pendragon Works No. 297 built 1994 by the Exmoor Steam Railway This is a sister engine to Merlin in most respects but being slightly shorter and painted maroon. It ran at Ashorne Hall in Warwickshire until that railway closed. It was changed to 10.25 inch gauge over winter 2005/6 and renamed. It entered service at Rudyard in March 2006 as Pendragon named after King Arthurs father Uther Pendragon. It had returned to the Exmoor Steam Railway for conversion on October 8th 2005. Trial runs at Exmoor were successfully carried out on October 9th and complete trains from the Ashorne Hall railway were run for probably the final time. It finally returned to Rudyard on 5th March 2006 and is now in service. It runs the opposite way round to all the other locomotives. It is in service from 2006.
No.9 Ashorne now Pendragon at Exmoor in March 2006 Atlantic Locomotive WaverleyNo.196This locomotive is now normally resident on the railway. It was built in 1950 by David Curwen and has run at Weymouth, Loughborough and on Mull. Now owned by a small group of enthusiasts it is used from time to time on lighter trains or the double head heavier trains. It went to Bowness in Scotland in early 2004 for attention to its boiler and tender and returned on August 27th 2005.
Waverley photographed on Mull The boiler had its boiler tubes replaced and was then given a 10 year hydraulic test. The profile of the tender wheels was also improved and an air brake system added. It is now dual fitted with air and vacuum brakes. This engine is in service after extensive work to the motion over the Winter 2008. To see more views and information on other trains linked to this railway click here. Talyllyn Sub DivsionA short length of dual gauge track has been laid at Rudyard so that our 7.25 inch gauge locomotives and equipment can run. There are 2 steam engines and 3 carriages available based on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. These trains will only run on special event days. The engines are No.2 Dolgoch No.4 Edward Thomas A visit to the real thing where the worlds first heritage railway was set up in 1950 is thoroughly recommended. Diesel & Petrol LocomotivesMordredThis is a 4W petrol locomotive built in 1969 by Mr. Terry Stanhope. This engine has also been 2 foot and 15 inch gauge. It is mainly used for works trains. It has a Morris minor petrol engine which runs very well. It was rebuilt in 2003 and fitted with air brakes. The cab was lowered and it was repainted bright red. Removed from the railway 1/1/2006 for engine overhaul by Dave Cruickshank of Middlewhich and has been repainted in green. It returned on July 23rd 2006 and is in use. No.3 Sir ErnieThis is a 2-2-2 battery electric device fashioned from an electric wheelchair and can haul a wagon or transport a person the length of the line No. 5 Lady of the Lake This is a 4W +4W diesel locomotive built in 1989 by a local contractor Mr. L. Smith of Leek. It has a Lister three cylinder diesel engine. It is probably the largest locomotive in existence on this size of railway. It is being overhauled and repainted in Summer 2007 and will emerge in yellow livery in 2008.
ROLLING STOCKThe railway has 11 carriages available for services. All are painted signal red. There is one more under construction and one awaiting delivery. The current carriage stock list is: Nos. 1, 2, Articulated set seating 24. This was overhauled and fitted with roofs and end screens in early 2001. No. 2 was replaced with a new larger coach body in May 2006 and the old body from No.2 is to be scrapped. Originally a set of three coaches now reduced to two until a third new body and extra bogie is built. The bogie has been ordered from LTM engineering in Sept 2007 and the second new larger body was built by Alan Hunt of Wilmslow in 2008 No. 4 Bogie coach seating 20 carriage built in 1990 by L. Smith of Leek. Was overhauled and re-entered service at Easter 2002. Its roof was lowered by 5 inches then refitted. In 2004 a guards compartment was added and seating capacity reduced to 18. Subsequently the guards compartment was enlarged and a Public Address system fitted in May 2008 and seating capacity is now 16. No. 5 bogie coach seating 12 built in March 2007 by LTM Engineering Rochdale and in service from April 1st 2007. No. 6 is similar to No.5 with the addition of doors and was delivered from the same company on 26th June and in use from the 30th of June 2007. Nos. 7, 8, 9 Short enclosed carriages built by the Exmoor Steam Railway. Two are fully glazed and offer proper protection from the weather. They needed to be when they were in use on the top of Exmoor. Acquired in summer and autumn 2001 all are now in service. The roofs have been clad and rain strips added in 2006. Coach No. 10 seating 16 is a semi open coach that has been constructed by Victoria Engineering at Longridge near Preston. In regular use from 2004/5. Coach No.11 is an enclosed 6 seat observation coach built by Ian & Chris Burgess and is ready for use on special events from August 2007. Fitted with new bogies in July 2008. Coach No.12 is an enclosed wood bodied 12 seat coach and was completed and in service by August 2006. This now runs in the articulated set with coaches 1 & 2. Coaches No.5 & 6 are enclosed steel framed and glazed coaches built in 2007 by LTM Engineering of Rochdale. This associated company can supply high quality bogies and other equipment to the UK market. Click here for information Goods WagonsThere are currently 3 bogie wagons ( 2 flat, 1open) and a brake van in use on maintenance work. More wagons ( two vans , 3 opens) have been constructed by a Alan Boon a friend of the railway. A 4 wheel tank type wagon and a crane wagon were completed in 2004. All of these wagons are sprung and fully air brake fitted. Two of these wagons (A van and the tank wagon) have been sold to the Royal Victoria Railway near Southampton. the crane and two other new open wagons will go to the Mull railway in due course. This will leave 3 open wagons and 1 Van in use on the railway as well as the bogie wagons.
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